State, county and local stockpiles of road salt are being
gauged in terms of the next storms today and possibly this weekend.

And while Pennsylvania
and New Jersey transportation
officials don't foresee shortages, some municipalities are in trouble,
officials say.

"We are very low this year compared to past years and that's
just because of the frequency of the storms," Tom Matthews, Hunterdon
County director of public works,
said Tuesday. "The salt distributors can only do so much."

Bloomsbury in Hunterdon has been one
of the region's municipalities hardest hit by dwindling reserves of salt, a key ingredient in melting ice and snow. That's in large
part because the borough lacks a large location to stockpile it, Mayor Martha Tersigni
said.

"This last storm ... we ran out of salt at the beginning of the
storm," she said of Monday's snowfall.

She called the county and Matthews helped arrange
sharing county salt with neighboring municipalities.

Bethlehem Department of Public Works Director Mike Alkahl said the city has about a third of the amount of
salt it would prefer to have on hand. Its supplier, International Salt, has
been having trouble meeting the demand, he said.

"We're trying to
conserve as much as we can," he said. "We're mixing it with cinders. We're
constantly calling for deliveries."

Alkahl said the city's last delivery of about 200 tons came
about two weeks ago.

"We definitely have enough for this next event," he said Tuesday. "I can't definitively say how much of a challenge any event will be
after that."

Easton as of Tuesday had 650 tons on hand and another 500 tons ordered, Mayor Sal Panto Jr.
said. He said an estimated 200 tons of salt, mixed with sand or grit, would be
needed for the storm forecast Tuesday into Wednesday.

"Our stockpile right now, we have enough stockpiled probably
enough for about four to five more major storms, a little more if they're less intense," Easton Director of Public Services David Hopkins said. "So, I'm pretty confident that we'll get through the winter."

Hopkins called
this winter "probably the worst year at least in a decade that we can recall,"
with the city using about twice as much of its supply compared to recent years.

Similar to a measure in place through Feb. 11 for home
heating fuel deliveries, the waiver extends the limits on hours of service for
salt delivery drivers. Drivers usually must take a mandatory rest period after
11 hours behind the wheel. Under the waiver, the limit for driving hours is
extended to 14 hours.

New Jersey Department of Transportation spokesman Stephen
Schapiro said he was unaware of similar discussions. He said state stockpiles
are adequate for several more storms, with deliveries continually coming in
from suppliers "when available."

"One of the challenges is just the rapid succession of storms
and that's depleted stockpiles," he said. "Suppliers are having a difficult
time keeping up with demand."

In Warren County, Director of Public Safety Frank Wheatley said he hasn't heard of municipalities
asking for help securing salt.

"We're fine," he said Tuesday. "At least for this storm, we have
enough supplies on hand."

Lehigh Valley Editor Rudy Miller and The Associated Press contributed to this report.